Russian-Western Relations in the context of the Ukrainian crisis

This thesis aims to find out the causes of the Ukrainian crisis that started at the end of 2013 with demonstrations in Ukrainian cities against the president Yanukovych's regime. This crisis later escalated into the seizure of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian federation and led to the war in the eastern Ukraine. Moreover, the crisis is closely linked to a broader crisis between Russia and the West, represented mainly by NATO and the European union. This work also attempts to find the possible reasons for the crisis. Furthermore, this thesis searches for an answer to the question whether the Ukrainian crisis could be resolved by Ukraine's acceptance of its neutral status, and whether this would improve the relations between the West and Russia. Since they were in similar situation during the cold war, Austria and Finland are used as examples of possible solution for the crisis by declaring the neutral status.